Former Senator Bob Dole, died in his sleep earlier today, which was announced by his wife Elizabeth. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Robert Joseph Dole was born in Russell, Kansas to Doran Ray Dole and the former Bina Talbott. After he graduated from high school in 1941, he attended the University of Kansas, where he was on the football, basketball and track teams. He later transferred to the University of Arizona and Washburn University, from which he graduated.
In 1942, Dole joined the U.S. Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps. In April 1945, while in combat near Castel D'Aiano, Italy, Dole was wounded by a German shell, which paralyzed him from neck down. He eventually recovered from his injuries, but was left with numbness in his left arm and limited mobility in his right arm.
Dole was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1950 and became County Attorney for Russell County in 1952. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1960, in which he served eight years. In 1968, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He stayed in the Senate until he resigned in 1996 to focus on his campaign for president, eventually losing to incumbent Bill Clinton. Dole had also run for vice president as President Gerald Ford's running mate.
After leaving politics, Dole was a TV commercial spokesman, a lobbyist, and a member of various volunteer organizations. In 2018, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service as a "soldier, legislator and statesman".
Dole married Phyllis Holdren in 1948, by whom he had his only child, their daughter Robin. They divorced in 1972. Dole married Elizabeth Hanford in 1975. She was elected Senator from North Carolina in 2002 and also served as Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation. Dole is survived by his daughter and his second wife.
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